The writer in winter
Somewhat embarrassedly, I must admit that I had not read Paul Auster, widely acknowledged as one of America’s leading novelists, till his...
All Writings
- Aug 3, 2013
- 4 min
Remembrances of things past
The rain pours down. The glowering grey of the clouds thickens the green of the neem, the jamun, even the keekar trees of Delhi. Traffic...
- Jun 1, 2013
- 5 min
From easy rider to revolutionary
Browsing the bursting bookshelves at Bangalore’s bookshop, Blossoms, I found myself hoping for a small miracle: that from the piles of...
- May 4, 2013
- 4 min
Poems on the Sand
Some half a century ago, Paula Ben-Gurion, wife of Israel’s first Prime Minister looked over the hedge while pottering around her Tel...
- Mar 3, 2013
- 5 min
The superfluous man
It’s the same space in the sky, but that’s about it. The tall, straight-lined and right-angled Intourist Hotel, the pride of Soviet...
- Feb 3, 2013
- 5 min
Of Valour Sublime
For several days now, the military bands have been practising beyond my office window, perfecting their march down to Vijay Chowk and...
- Dec 1, 2012
- 5 min
E.M. Forster chews ‘paan’
A passage to India in the company of E.M. Forster Occasional writing is a much neglected and sometimes denigrated genre probably because...
- Nov 3, 2012
- 4 min
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
Tracing Dylan Thomas’s steps to his favourite watering hole, the White Horse Tavern, New York. I am in literary legend land in downtown...
- Nov 1, 2012
- 4 min
Short stopover
Navtej Sarna’s short story collection is here. As is Prajwal Parajuly’s. Will they usher in good times for short story writers in a...
- Nov 1, 2012
- 5 min
The unquiet Englishman
The Quiet American throws light on Graham Greene's personal life and is a vivid demonstration of his affirmed anti-Americanism. An early...
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5 min
Of Lords, aunts and pigs
Renewing one's acquaintance with Wodehouse is not unlike the timely pick-me-up administered by Jeeves to Bertie on the morning after the...
- May 5, 2012
- 4 min
Storyteller sublime
Eli Amir's novels examine issues of identity and the true meaning of exile. It is the best hour of the day in Jerusalem. The...
- Mar 3, 2012
- 5 min
Of Writers and writers
While some have all the time in the world to just put pen to paper, there are some authors who work all day and write at night. Judging...
- Dec 3, 2011
- 4 min
To savour and swirl
50 Great Short Stories, edited by Milton Crane is a remarkable collection with a huge variety of settings, subjects and styles but...
- Sep 3, 2011
- 5 min
Poetry on a perfect pitch
It was by accident that Sir Neville Cardus started writing on cricket. He ended up becoming its most stylish chronicler and it's a...
- Aug 6, 2011
- 4 min
The Chatterley hat trick
Three books that give you the complete story behind D.H. Lawrence's notorious Lady Chatterley's Lover. Not the most felicitous of...
- Dec 6, 2009
- 4 min
Wizard called Oz
R amat Aviv is a leafy suburb of Tel Aviv, the understated terrain of the intellectuals, lawyers and professors, politicians and...
- Nov 1, 2009
- 4 min
Of the inconstant heart
Three weeks to read two hundred some pages, but that’s the kind of book it is. The Good Soldier - A Tale of Passion by Ford Madox Ford...
- Aug 2, 2009
- 3 min
Go East, young man
The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham has sold millions of copies in many formats- hardback, paperback, classic, even two movies. But...
- Jul 5, 2009
- 4 min
Strange and mystic business
Allenby Street in Tel Aviv is a busy place at lunch time. Amidst the roadside cafes, the pizzerias, the shop fronts full of mannequins in...